Published 9:18 am, Friday, December 18, 2015

Despite a minor uptick in the unemployment rate for Hale County in November, Danny Soliz with South Plains Workforce Solutions says the economy remains strong.

“Things in Plainview and throughout the region are pretty stable,” Soliz explains. Based in Lubbock, Soliz is director of business development for the 15 counties served by South Plains Workforce Solutions.

He attributes the slight increase in jobless numbers for a few counties to the harvest winding down.

According to statistics released Friday by the Labor Department, joblessness rose in Hale County by one tenth of a percent, rising from 5.7 percent in October to 5.8 in November. Briscoe County went up from 3.5 to 3.9 percent. Floyd County rose from 4.4 to 4.6 percent. Castro County was unchanged at 3.3 percent and Swisher County was stable at 4.7 percent. Lamb County declined from 8.2 to 8.1 percent.

“Floyd County, the Pumpkin Capital, is a good example,” Soliz explains. “Once you get through with harvesting pumpkins, most of the migrant farmworkers move back to South Texas, and those who stay have trouble finding work. In rural counties that are heavily dependent on agriculture, once the harvest slows down we normally see the numbers go up.”

Overall, Soliz says, the economy is stable with lots of construction, particularly related to wind energy. “Across the entire South Plains, our unemployment rate remains stable at 3.8 percent,” Soliz notes. “A year ago, it was 3.7 percent, which isn’t much of a change.”

Mike Fox, executive director for the Plainview Hale County Industrial Development Corporation, agrees.

“The November unemployment number of 5.8 percent, while representing a slight increase, indicates that the Hale County rate is holding steady at around that number over the last few months,” he observed Friday. “At the end of 2014, the Hale County unemployment rate was around 7 percent, so we have shown improvement year-to-date.

“The variance in the employment numbers reflect seasonal changes that we encounter most years. As we close out 2016 and enter the new year, I am very optimistic that we will see that number drop even further,” Fox predicts. “Plainview and Hale County have been very blessed with lots of positive economic activity during 2016.”

Soliz suggests keeping an eye on the February jobless report get a better idea about the direction of the economy. “That’s when we start seeing where the retail sector is heading. By then, retailers have released the temporary workers hired during the holiday season, as well as those retained to help with inventory.”

At this point, Soliz said, the area’s economy is quite healthy, as shown by stable workforce numbers. “From now through the end of the year, we’ll see a bump in the unemployment numbers with bus drivers, cafeteria workers and custodial staff being released as school gets out for the holidays. But they will go back on the rolls when classes resume.”

Soliz says Plainview and most area communities are benefiting from activity associated with wind energy development. “Although the construction companies bring in most of their crews to move and erect the wind turbines, those workers spend a lot of money locally. And once the towers go up and are put into operation, companies will be hiring to fill some permanent positions.”

Hale County saw the actual number of unemployed fall in this month’s report, going from 737 in October to 735 in November. The labor force dropped by 185, falling from 12,885 in October to 12,700 in November. The number of actively employed declined by 183, falling from 12,148 to 11,965.

The county’s workforce has fallen significantly since Cargill closed. In January 2013, the labor force numbered 15,250. Since then it has declined 2,550, which is generally in line with the number of local jobs lost when Cargill shut down at the end of January 2013. The actual number of employed workers fell 2,162 during the same period, while the unemployment rate has fallen from 7.4 percent immediately prior to Cargill’s closure.

Texas’ seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 4.6 percent in November, up from 4.4 percent in October, and remained below the national average of 5.0 percent.

The Amarillo Metropolitan Statistical Area recorded the month’s lowest unemployment rate among Texas MSAs with a non-seasonally adjusted rate of 3.2 percent, followed by the Austin-Round Rock and Lubbock MSAs with rates of 3.3 and 3.4 percent, respectively, in November.